a. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to video games, including video games incorporating safe live-action combat.
b. Background Art
Video games, since their emergence into widespread commercialization in the 1970s and 1980s, have continued to grow in popularity and complexity. A wide range of games are and have been published, including sports games, combat games, fantasy games, and numerous other game types. Even as games have become more and more advanced, however, the paradigm of interaction between the player and the game has generally stayed the same for the vast majority of games: the player uses a handheld controller or similar device to direct action on a display.
Various video games have attempted to change or supplement the user's interaction with the game. For example, some games may involve a surface (e.g., a pad, mat, or platform) on which a player touches his or her feet, hands, etc. to match prompts on screen (in, for example, dance games) or to direct action on screen (in, for example, track-and-field games). In another example, some games attempt to measure the player's movement, either directly (e.g., by recording that movement with a camera) or indirectly (e.g., through gyroscopes in a controller or other device).